Israel News

Jerusalem — For the first time since a deal was hammered out with the Rabbinical Council of America nearly a decade ago, Israel’s Chief Rabbinate is no longer automatically accepting conversion certifications from any American Orthodox rabbi.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued last week that the Palestinian leadership is supporting “ethnic cleansing” by refusing to accept Israeli settlers in its future state.

“Yet the Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one precondition: No Jews. There’s a phrase for that: It’s called ethnic cleansing,” he said in a video released Sept. 9. “And this demand is outrageous. It’s even more outrageous that the world doesn’t find this outrageous.”